Unconditional Love
by somebody101
Summary: Padmé’s father reflects upon how much he loved his daughter in the hours before her funeral. He struggles to let go of the young daughter he loved so much.


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Unconditional Love

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It killed him when he had heard of his daughter's fate. The war had ended, and yet she had still been killed. He remembered how his heart had broken everytime he heard of some battle on a foreign land where he couldn't save her.

No one had been able to explain her death to him. No one had been able to explain how she had been choked without any bruises on her neck, or why she was so clearly bearing a child within her. A child that would never be born; a grandchild he would never get the chance to love.

Padmé had been his life when she was growing up. He had loved her unconditionally, no matter what she did or didn't do. It was that love for her that was crushing him now; slowly making his heart and soul bitter. He could her the sobs of his wife, and older daughter, as well as they gentle reassurances of his son in law. The twins were asleep, but he knew they would miss their Aunt. Who wouldn't miss my beloved daughter?

He had always supported her, and he had been shocked to see her become Queen of Naboo at such a young age. It scared him to know how much she was taking on, yet he knew she had been more than capable of ruling the planet. His fear during the Federation invasion of Naboo had scared him, not for himself, but for his family. Most of all he had been afraid for his daughter's safety; after all, she was the one they wanted for their twisted scheme to work.

He had heard, as did all the prisoners that she had returned to Naboo, and rumor spread quickly that she had already formulated a battle plan. And it was then that he knew Naboo would be safe again soon. He knew because he loved his daughter, and he trusted her. He, like so many others, saw her as the brilliant politician, the Queen who fought for her peoples' freedom, the Senator who was constantly fighting for democracy.

Yet, that democracy was now dead too, just as she was. Gone as if though it had hardly existed. Of course the funeral would be the greatest Naboo had ever seen, but he was not ready to see her placed within an ornate tomb. He was not ready to lose her for forever.

His hand rested gently on her soft, yet pallid and lifeless cheek. Tears fell as he remembered the vibrant young woman she had always been; the little girl who had spent her entire life helping others. He wept, knowing that he would never see the fiery spirit in her deep, majestic brown eyes. How was he supposed to survive knowing that he would never again hear her laughter that reminded him of joyful songs? And now he was left with nothing more than a shell of what his daughter had been.

He had forced everyone to leave him with her alone, and he had spent the previous eight hours with her. It was in that time that he had managed to dress her in a deep blue gown that seemed to match the night sky and darkness that had fallen over the universe. He had lovingly placed on just slight touches of makeup, making sure he was gentle. He spent hours tediously curling her still silky smooth hair. Hair that smelled of sweet Nubian perfumes that she had always worn. His fingers gently entwined the yellow and blue ribbons amongst her thick curls, and he ever so delicately put the first of dozens of flowers in place. They were blue as well, but they were her favorite. It seemed like just yesterday when they had been out by the Lake Retreat, and she had woven them into her hair much like he was doing now. He carefully positioned the flowers, and corrected any minor flaws, making sure everything was perfect.

That was how they began their procession through the mourning city of Theed. A city his daughter loved, and for that reason he loved it as well. He could see tears on so many faces. It was a slight comfort to see how many cared about his daughter, yet it infuriated him to see how much they were crying when they had hardly known her. With a weak sigh he looked back to his daughter, and then up to the setting sun. The beauty of the city seemed to be lost as he watched those who had been given the honor of bearing her through the city. He only wished that he could have made this perfect for her; it would've been a way to show her one final time how much he loved her. But, he knew it could never be perfect, because she wasn't alive. He wished desperately that everything could have been perfect as he looked at the now lifeless brown eyes that peered slightly at him from beneath half closed lids. He let tears fall as he thought of the ways he could have made everything perfect.

Just like she had been so _perfect_. It was then that he pulled out the mysterious snippet of Japor that had been given to him. He had no idea where it had come from, but he had seen his daughter hold it close to her heart. That was enough reason for him to place it within her precious fingers.

There was nothing he wanted more than to have her reach out and grab his hand, there was nothing he wanted more than for her to smile, laugh. There was nothing he needed more than to see her angelic brown eyes to look at him, and show him, without a single word of how much she loved him. Just like he loved her, just like he would always love her, because she was _his_ daughter, and his love was unconditional, even through her death.

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The End

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Notes: I just wrote this on impulse, and since I needed a break from some of the other stories I've been working on. Hope you enjoyed reading this, and I always appreciate reviews.

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